Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Home again, home again...

We are home.

Honestly I still don't know how I feel about it all. One minute I am excited and enthusiastic, the next I am flat and overwhelmed.

The girls rushed in and spent hours rummaging through their things. Playing, reading, trying on and making. I love how their special things are triggering special memories and stories. I love how they sing as they explore.

And we have moved from space to space also. Cleaning, browsing, unpacking, sorting.

Our main aim right now is to declutter. To clear some space. After six months in a caravan we are overwhelmed by how much stuff we have at home. We have placed boxes in the middle of every room and are slowly filling them up with things. Books we wont read again, clothes we never wear, toys we have outgrown. The girls are really excited by the sorting too. We are being ruthless. I feel the need to rush this process before the old hoarder Kate creeps back in and changes her mind.

And in the middle of it all, when it all got a bit overwhelming, we went off for a walk. We walked around the farm and said hello to the animals and picked raspberries, strawberries, currants and gooseberries. I remembered how much I love living on a farm. How alive I feel here. How incredible home grown, freshly picked produce tastes. How walking around this place is the best medicine for an overwhelmed head.

And I washed and dried all our favourite linen so we have snuggly beds to look forward to. I must say I am just a bit excited about sleeping in our own bed.

Thank you all so much for traveling along with us. It has been wonderful to be able to share this adventure and have your feedback, suggestions, stories and advice along the way.

I'm off now to make us pancakes with berries for dinner. I've washed a pile of Johnson plates we thrifted on the trip to use for the special homecoming dinner.

76 comments:

It must be strange to be back, I admire your decluttering. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. It's been better than any tv show, and makes me want to see some of those far flung places I've never been to.

I feel your ambivalence! I am happy that you are home for Christmas but sad that I can no longer travel the roads with you. I have talked my daughter into doing a long trip with the grandchildren in a couple of years...your blog convinced her. Welcome home.

Welcome Home Darlings ... those berries look totally deelish. Drat you being so far away! You could have come along to my Stash & Treasure Recycler's Market and turned your de-cluttering into cash. Mmmmmm maybe we could bring the concept down your way :) Enjoy the wonderful joys of being home. Look at that, life's changing already ♥♥♥♥♥

Love the decluttering! 8 years ago i did a very similar trip around Australia for 8 months and came home and felt that exact thing...what is all this stuff?? why so I have 100 knives and forks when i only need 8 or so? I was so ruthless and filled a vinnies store or two! Enjoy the peace it brings and all the space you gain. The berries look amazing! Enjoy the fresh perspective and keep all the good parts of the trip alive at home each day too! Have loved reading your trip and reliving my own journey...the memories were so vivid as you visit each place.

Welcome home. I have so enjoyed travelling around this great country of ours with you all. We were away for 10 weeks earlier this year and it did take a little while to get used to being home again. I look forward to following the next stage of your lives now that you are back on the farm.

Dear Kate, Great you are home with your sweet family! I feel so happy for you. I am from India and have been following your blog since almost a year. Thank you for the beautiful journey updates.. I really loved and had a great time reading your travel updates. Thank you :) Have a merry christmas and happy new year ahead!! You are truly gifted to have such beautiful daughters and a loving husband! God bless. Take care.

Welcome home everyone! It has been a pleasure and an honour to read about your fantastic journey - thank you so much for sharing it with us... and when I read that you are home I had a little moment of panic.. you're not going to stop blogging now are you?? Oh my goodness I hope not! Have fun nesting :)x

tee hee, looking around this place I think I need a holiday to get in the decluttering mode.I love Johnson plates - simple and understated and classic and such calming colours.Welcome home!Oh, and does this mean that your listing will go from a "travel" blog to a "home organiser" blog LOL

Welcome home Kate...Oh I bet you missed your own bed...and I understand what you mean about de-cluttering once you get home...I am the same after I have been away from home...I can't imagine what it would be like after so long thou...

Your blanket looks amazing...Very Australian I would say...Great choice of pattern for your trip...

I have a stash of Johnson plates too that I buy from thrifty shops...mine are the pastels...sometimes I can get some Meakin ones too that look very much the same...

Ive already cried twice this week. In public too. Oh dear! so im not going to now, but nearly...So, so happy for you but feeling the overwhelmingness of the decluttering from here.You are on the perfect track with a box in each room and if you bring the whelie bin inside youll be laughing and singing louder than the girls!Love that youre home, x

welcome home!!!!!!! what a journey and what amazing memories you and your family have made. go with the flow and always find time to take a breather...after so long on the road you'll need it and then you'll be up and off again, all inspired. good luck with the ruthless behaviour, as a collector, i secretly LOVE decluttering. photos of this johnson dinner party need to be shared, pronto. love! xx

I am excited for the chucking out and I am in the mood to do the same_ I plan to spend all day tomorrow doing it - but I have no hording tendencies and I love it. Do it now, i agree, while you are still in the mood. you will lvoe that chapter in The Happiness project. x

Welcome HOme!!'Enjoying sleeping in your bed tonight and all the wonderful things that come from coming home. I can understand feel conflicting feeling one minute to the next, coming home is a big adjustment as was the trip, remember to keep taking the time out when it feels a bit overwhelmingxo

I've been reading your blog off & on for a little while now & it's been such a pleasure to read! You basically just lived my dream & it's so inspiring to see someone experience such a big, amazing trip, one that I hope to make one day with my future kiddies! Congrats & welcome home. :)

welcome home kate and co. if your experience pans out like mine it will take weeks to get your head around the end of the adventure. i still wake up not quite knowing where i am or how i got here. dont rush it will all come together. the need to live a simpler life is a common thread. i am still trying to declutter but keep getting distracted by the holiday pics.

Welcome home Kate! Just remember the most important thing, something that you may have overlooked.... You & your family have a home to return home too - with that welcoming front door & the squeaky gates - rejoice your home & dream many more dreams. AND ENJOY!!

I got goosebumps reading that you are home.Thank you for sharing your amazing adventure with us. Every post has been fantastic - such a wonderful adventure.I hope you settle back in to your home quickly with a new energy for all of your projects.Merry Christmas xx

Is there anything better than watching the kids re-discover your home all over again? I know what it's like after two weeks away, so lordy, your girls will be having a lovely time. We have de-cluttered today too, first day of the school holidays. I feel a whole lot lighter now. But there is still much more to go. Welcome home. Enjoy!

I feel conflicted about you coming back too, I've been enjoying your trip so much. But I imagine there are many more things I will enjoy about reading your new home based adventures. Enjoy your own bed- heavenly after a long trip.

Welcome Home Kate,I can't believe how quickly your trip has gone. Many many thanks for sharing your special journey with us all. Your thoughts, worries and dreams have all resonated with me even though I am the other side of the world in the UK.As you have written your blog with honesty I feel that you have strong direction inside you which surely means that although you may have to go back to some normality and may from time to time lose yourself in the humdrum of family life you will always strive to be true to the values that you have discovered along your journey. Thank you for sharing , with love all the way from the UK. XX

Welcome home, Kate. What an adventure you've all had. Thank you so much for sharing your travels with us; your writing is so descriptive and so lovely that I have often felt I was on the journey with you. Merry Christmas to you all in your own place, with all those lovely memories to share.

Welcome home Kate and family! I know how strange home seems - the solidity, sound, space etc, after a week of camping. Let along six months. Thank you for sharing your adventure (sometimes I pass on your stories or location to hubby and he says not to tell him because he wants to go too..). Good luck with all the decluttering.

I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.